Around Here editor/writer

For three years Teri Swezey watched over her elderly mother, who suffered dementia and could not leave their home unassisted.

Her mother died in 2010, five days short of her 89th birthday.

Today, Swezey wants those who provide this kind of in-home care for the elderly to be recognized for the time and effort they give.

To bring attention to this role, one that many people have accepted, Swezey is walking from Wrightsville Beach, N.C., across America to the beach at Cambria, Calif. — a total of 3,039 miles. On Tuesday morning, Swezey was making her way out of Athens north toward Gainesville. From there, her trek continues to Rome into Alabama and westward to the Pacific Ocean.

Along the way, she’s met many helpful and giving people who have offered her drinks and even an umbrella when it appeared a shower was imminent. And people have given cash, which goes to her nonprofit organization Seniors Obtaining Assistance and Resources Inc.

Quite a few people wave when they see the 57-year-old North Carolina resident walking down the road in shorts, a yellow safety vest and a placard hanging across her chest.

The effort she is putting into what she calls “SOAR Feat 2012” is worth it, she said. Being a caretaker is “challenging and rewarding, but I don’t feel like there is a lot of recognition for the fact that being a caregiver is a 24-hour-a-day job,” she said during an interview on Prince Avenue.

When she was caring for her mother, there were times when she felt exhausted.

“Someone said ‘Well, you’re doing three 8-hour shifts,’” she recalled. “I want to bring attention and support for caregivers and also for the loved ones who they are caring for.”

Swezey undertook walking across America as way to spread this message. So far, media in North Carolina and South Carolina have responded with several TV, radio and newspaper interviews as she passed through the cities of Wilmington, Myrtle Beach and Columbia.

“In my early 20s when I read Peter Jenkins’ book ‘A Walk Across America’ — he was the first to write about it — that inspired me,” she said.

Her desire to make a similar walk shifted into bringing awareness for caregivers of seniors. And as she walks from sea to shining sea she remembers her mother, Mary Swezey, who raised six children, worked as a substitute teacher and dental office receptionist, and who had a love of the ocean. Late in life, that woman lost the ability to be self-sufficient, but a daughter came to her side.

The walk is expected to end in early November in Cambria, where Swezey’s parents once resided and are now buried.